Twilight 25-Round 8
by Maddie-the-Muse
Summary: The Twilight Twenty-Five is a challenge to write 25 pieces of fiction based on predetermined prompts within a three month period. For Round 8, all of your work must be flash fiction. This challenge defines flash fiction as containing between 300 and 500 words.
1. 19 Letting Go

**The Twilight Twenty-Five** - thetwilight25 dot com

Prompt: #19  
Pen Name: Maddie-the-Muse  
Pairing/Character(s): Jacob/Bella  
Rating: K  
Word Count: 395

Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

* * *

He went to visit her grave every year on her birthday, despite knowing that she didn't actually lie in the casket buried there. He knew that, technically, she wasn't dead, but also that she could never again be described as alive.

He'd sit on the dried grass covering her grave, and lean back against the headstone carved with dates that represented nothing. As far as he was concerned, she had died long before the date carved there—the date that her death was faked for her family's benefit. That was the day he knew that he would never see her again. It had been nearly 20 years now, and he came to sit in this spot every year, no longer having to wait until Charlie had come and gone since he had passed away himself a couple of years ago.

He spoke to her, knowing that she would never hear him. It was easier to pretend that she was actually dead than walking around somewhere, undead.

"Hey, Bells. Happy Birthday." His voice shaky with emotions he felt ashamed at still carrying around. Taking a deep breath he kneeled facing the headstone and slowly let the breath out as he scrubbed a hand over his face. "I don't know why I still come here. Habit I guess."

He sat quietly, listening to the birds chirping in the distance. "I can't do it anymore, Bella. I need to move on. I'm too old and too tired to carry around the memory of a girl that was too damn stupid to live her life. I'm sorry. I love you, but I'm done. I hope you're happy, where ever you are."

After another long quite moment, he wiped the tears that had spilled out over his lower lashes and rose to his feet.

She watched from her perch in the tree tops downwind from the grave yard as he turned and slowly walked back to his truck parked at the gate. The tension in her chest she felt every time she listened to him speak at her headstone tightened until she felt like it might break her in half. She had come every year to listen to the stories he told the empty grave, pretending for just one day that she had made the right decision; that she hadn't thrown her life away—that Jacob could really be hers.


	2. 02 Bucket List

The Twilight Twenty-Five: thetwilight25 dot com

Prompt: #2  
Pen Name: Maddie-the-Muse  
Pairing/Character(s): Leah/?  
Rating: K  
Word Count: 498

Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

* * *

"This was on the porch for you," Seth said, tossing a shoe box tied with twine through Leah's open bedroom door.

She caught the box, turning it right side up to examine it, before looking toward the door to ask who it was from, but Seth had already moved on down the hall to his own room.

She carefully pulled the end of the twine, loosening the bow, and lifted the lid. The box held a collection of paper scraps and a few other small items. On the top of the pile a sheet of lined paper from a note pad sat folded in half. She placed the box on her bed and picked the note out of the box, unfolding it as her curiosity got the better of her. The note was short, written in neat block letters, and un-signed.

_ Leah,_

_ If things were different, I would take you to all the places you talk about. I'd find a way to make your dreams come true.  
Maybe one day, I'll be brave enough to actually talk to you about it, until then, I'll bring those places to you._

_ xo_

Leah flipped the paper over, looking for a clue as to who could have written it, but there was none.

Setting the letter aside, she started lifting items from the box: a photo of the Eiffel tower at sunset, a small vial of black sand, a cheesy postcard of someone going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, pictures clipped from travel magazines—The Grand Canyon, Machu Picchu, Big Ben—a sticker of a cartoon Venetian gondolier. The contents seemed endless, and with each one that Leah pulled from the box, she marvelled at the very idea that someone had paid such close attention to her to enable them to collect all of her travel dreams together.

But who?

She couldn't remember talking to anyone specifically about wanting to see the black sand beaches of Maui or taking a road trip to the Grand Canyon, but these were things she had dreamed of doing since she was little.

Overwhelmed and excited, she dug further into the box, her fingers shaking as she pulled more of her bucket-list dreams and spread them out on the quilt covering her bed.

A tiny snow globe with Stonehenge inside, a keychain with a San Francisco trolley dangling from it, things near to home—the Space Needle—and things far thrown—The Leaning Tower of Pisa. The collection grew until the entire surface of her bed was covered.

The last item in the box was a small pink envelope. With shaking hands, she lifted it and pulled out a Lady and the Tramp valentine card, the perforated type children give out in elementary school. A smile spread across her mouth—Valentine's day had passed months ago. Flipping it over, she found the same neat block letters: _Be my valentine? Meet me tonight at the place you go when you need to get away. Midnight._


	3. 25 Be Home Soon

The Twilight Twenty-Five: thetwilight25 dot com

Prompt: #25 (Be Home Soon)

Pen Name: Maddie-the-Muse  
Pairing/Character(s): Embry Call / Quil Ateara (Claire Young, Joy Ateara)  
Rating: T  
Word Count: 493

Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

* * *

Flopping down onto the small bed, Embry dialed into his voicemail and pressed 1 twice to listen to the saved message there.

_ "Embry, hey, I hope you can hear me. I'm at the train station, it's crazy loud." _

Embry could hear scuffling on the message as Quil shifted, trying to find a way to block out the background noise. He could see it in his mind; Quil pressing further into the corner that he had chosen to make the call from, turning away from the crowds of people that bustled past.

_ "I'm done here. My train leaves in about half an hour. Fuck, I miss you. I can't wait to see you...shit, I've got another call coming in; I have to go. I'll be home soon. Love you."_

He'd been so excited when he had heard it the first time while walking to the truck after leaving work. Quil had been gone for a little over two weeks—sent to San Francisco for training for his new position at the paper in Port Angeles—and Embry was antsy to see him again. They hadn't ever been apart that long since the summer Quil had returned from college and their relationship had evolved.

Claire was sixteen that summer and Quil had finally told her the truth about the imprint, having discussed it with Jake, the council, and her Mom, of course. She'd shut him down pretty firmly, asserting that she could never see him in any other way than as her brother, and encouraged him to go and find someone who could love him back. It hadn't taken long for Embry to come forward with his feeling for his best friend after that, and they'd been practically inseparable since. That had been almost two years ago.

Embry pressed a button and tucked the phone against his ear again, waiting for the familiar sound of Quil's voice to soothe his raw nerves. He'd listened to it so many times the words had become a permanent part of his brain. He rolled toward the wall, curling around the phone in a tight ball. The faded wallpaper of the dusty room swam as tears welled up in his eyes.

Joy Ateara watched from the doorway of her son's childhood bedroom as she watched a man she'd known since he was a boy—a man she knew as well as her own son—broke down in body wracking sobs. It was a scene she'd come all too familiar with since the accident. It didn't make it any easier on either of them.

Drawing a deep, shaking breath, she wiped the stray tear that spilled over her own cheek and pulled the door closed as she backed out of the room, leaving Embry to his grief. Her son was never coming home.

The train left the tracks in the dead of night just outside of Crater Lake National Park. The investigators said ice on the tracks was to blame.


	4. 12 Exit Stairs

The Twilight Twenty-Five: thetwilight25 dot com

Prompt: #12 (Exit Stairs)

Pen Name: Maddie-the-Muse  
Pairing/Character(s): Bella Swan  
Rating: G  
Word Count: 300

Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

* * *

The emergency stairs leading to Chiltern Street look nothing like the ones in the theatre back in Forks, but every time she gets off the Circle Line at Baker Street she thinks back a lifetime ago to a conversation she had with her then best friend while sitting on the stairs of the theatre.

It had been decades since she had thought about Jacob, or Forks at all for that matter, the first time she saw the stairs. She couldn't place just what about them brought the memories, but every time she had to go to the library at Westminster University, which these days happened with increasing frequency, thoughts of the boy who had professed his undying love for her came rushing back.

Stopping at the bottom of the emergency stairs, she lost herself in the memories yet again. She wondered if he had ever found someone to return the abundance of love he had to give, or if she had taken that chance away from him completely. She feared that he may have turned hard and avoided connecting with anyone after she, as he had said, died. She had often thought of looking into his life—to see if he was happy—but had always stopped after a brief search had come up dry. He'd be an old man now, and finding out that she had prevented him from finding someone to love was more than she was willing to endure.

Someone bumped into her back, drawing her back to reality. Drawing a deep breath, Bella shook her head as if to clear away the cloudy visions of a life past, and made her way toward the exit. She had a lecture to prepare for, and Edward would worry if she were later than she said she would be.


	5. 09 Hope

The Twilight Twenty-Five (thetwilight25 dot com)

Prompt: #9 (Hope)  
Pen Name: Maddie-the-Muse  
Pairing/Character(s): Jacob/Bella  
Rating: K  
Word Count: 395

Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

* * *

They had been sitting quietly together in the forest so long that his knees were starting to ache from being crossed and motionless. They hadn't said anything to each other in a while. That was part of what he liked so much about being with Bella—apart from falling head over heels in love with her, that is—was that they didn't need to be talking all the time. It was never uncomfortable; just quiet. Just being with her made him feel better; it let him forget for just a little while that his whole world had been turned upside down and that he'd never really get it back. He liked to think that spending time with him helped her too, he was sure it did.

She shifted next to him, stretched her legs out in front of her and leaned back against the big pine tree at their back. He had been afraid that she was getting up, signalling that it was time to start heading back down; back to reality and the responsibility that had been thrust upon him. Instead, she stretched her arm out to where his hand rested on his thigh, and wove her fingers with his. It was such a simple gesture, one that wasn't new at all—he'd held her hand a thousand times before—but, still one that made his heart feel like it was going to burst out of his chest and take flight all on its own.

He chanced a glance over his shoulder to see the tiniest hint of a shy smile turning the corners of her mouth up. He knew there was no point in trying to hide the hopeful look on his face in response. She had taken his hand, not the other way around. She was smiling at him with a clear look of uncertainty. It breathed hope into his lungs that felt like they'd given up on breathing ever again. He'd thought that he'd lost her forever; had thought that he'd never get his heart back since he'd given it to her when she'd said she didn't want it.

He knew better than to read too far into it. It could mean nothing to her at all, after all, but it could be the first step in the direction he'd hoped they would go for so long, and he'd take that.


	6. 01 Last Light

The Twilight Twenty-Five (thetwilight25 dot com)

Prompt: #1 (Last Light)  
Pen Name: Maddie-the-Muse  
Pairing/Character(s): Sam/Leah  
Rating: K+  
Word Count: 305

Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

* * *

She wanted to ask him again where he's been. She wanted to demand that he explain to her where he'd gone for so long without calling, but couldn't bring herself to even think about doing it. Having that conversation would involve moving, and she couldn't fathom not having his arms wrapped tight around her right now. She'd missed this; missed having him hold her; missed being warm; missed feeling safe and loved.

He wanted to hold on to this moment forever. Wanted to remember every detail of it; how she felt in his arms, how her hair smelled as he buried his nose in it and drew deep comforting breaths, how warmth seemed to flood through his chest whenever he was near her. He'd missed her so much while he had been gone, and knew that when he dropped her at home tonight, after he'd told her the truth, that he'd never again have the chance to hold her close and tell her that he loved her. And he does, still love her, despite everything. He would give anything to change things, but even her father has told him there's nothing that can be done about it.

The days' last light starts to fade, the crickets starting their nightly song, and Sam knows he has to do it; knows he has to break the heart he hold so dearly. He brushes her hair to the side and places his lips to the back of her neck, and he can feel the smile radiate through her body even though he can't see it on her face. He can feel her happiness and knows in a minute it will be gone. Hopefully, it won't be lost forever.

"Leah," he whispers her name into her skin like a prayer, "there's something I need to talk to you about."


	7. 10 Wish

The Twilight Twenty-Five

thetwilight25 dot com

Prompt: #10 (Wish)  
Pen Name: Maddie-the-Muse  
Pairing/Character(s): Embry/Leah  
Rating: K+  
Word Count: 321

Photo prompts can be found here:  
thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

* * *

He watches her every chance he gets. The same thoughts always coming to mind when he does; Leah Clearwater is perfect, at least as far as he's concerned. Sure, she was sad and viciously angry, and kept to herself all the time. But really, who could blame her? He just can't get his mind wrapped around how that idiot Uley could have ever hurt her the way he did. She was the girl he'd wish for if there were a well he could toss a coin in and make such a wish.

Instead he watches her from a far. He watches and wonders how he'd try to make her smile—make her forget that her heart had been torn in two—if only he could work up the courage to even speak to her. To even let her know that he existed.

But what would Leah—smart, beautiful, broken Leah—want with him. He was a 15 year old outcast, bastard. He didn't fit in. He had nothing to offer her beyond his heart, which he'd give her in place of her own if she'd asked him to. He'd give her anything he had; everything really.

"Dude, are you even listening?" Quil asks, elbowing Embry in the ribs and pulling him out of his reverie.

He responds to Quil's persistent, needy plea for attention, still distracted, "What?" His eyes follow as Leah walks past them down the hallway, her books clutched tight to her chest, her head down, and walking fast to avoid having to talk to anyone as she makes her way to the front door of the tribal school.

"I asked what the hell you'd done to piss Cameron and Lahote off so bad? They've been staring at you all week like they're out for your blood or something, man." Quil responded, stepping into his line of sight just as Leah turned the corner and disappeared for another day.


	8. 17 Fresh Meat

The Twilight Twenty-Five

Prompt: #17

Pen Name: Maddie-the-Muse

Characters: Leah Clearwater, Seth Clearwater, Quil Ateara  
Rating: T  
Word Count: 335

Photo prompts can be found here.

* * *

"Hey, Leah, maybe you should sign up," Quil said jabbing Leah in the ribs with his elbow as they passed the Forks roller rink. He pointed to the roller derby fresh meat recruitment poster in the window.

"Right, I don't think team sports are really my thing, do you?" Leah scoffed, picking up her pace to get ahead of the boys.

"Oh come on, Leah!" Seth joined in enthusiastically. "You'd be awesome. You're crazy fast on four paws, I bet you'd be a blur on wheels."

"Totally," Quil agreed.

Leah kept walking, ignoring her brother and Quil as they chattered back and forth about Leah's future in roller derby. Honestly, she had bigger goals in life than trying to get on a team with a bunch of catty women; like convincing Sam to let her leave La Push for starters—preferably without actually having to speak to him.

"What would her derby name be?" Quil gave up pestering Leah about it and fell into step with Seth behind her.

"It's got to be something specific to her, right? Like, describing her somehow, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but punny," Quil agreed with Seth. Leah just rolled her eyes and continued down the street, lamenting how she'd been sent into town with these idiots in the first place. "How about La Push-over," he suggested.

"That doesn't suit her at all," Seth laughed. "More like First Bitch!"

"Oh, oh, Dude! How about Kill-eute? You know, like Quileuete?"

"I don't think it really works if you need to explain it."

"Right. What about playing on being a wolf? Like, I don't know, Lupin Lizard?"

"Dude, that was awful."

"Yeah, I know."

"Okay, what about Nuke-Leah?" Seth suggested with an excited wiggle of his eyebrows for emphasis.

"Would you idiots, can it?" Leah cut them off and turned to face them. "If I were going to join, which I'm not, I'd be Squawarrior." She rolled her eyes and continued down the block.

So, maybe she's thought about it once or twice.

A/N: This, like roller derby names in the real world, is meant to be a simple, fun, play on words and is not meant to be derogatory. There is a native roller derby player who goes by the name Sqaurrior. She played on the Kahnawake Wagon Burners from Quebec, a team made primarily of Native women.


	9. 18 That's Cool

The Twilight Twenty-Five (thetwilight25 dot com)

Prompt: #18  
Pen Name: Maddie-the-Muse  
Pairing/Character(s): Embry/Quil  
Rating: T  
Word Count: 441

Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

* * *

"You're so smooth, Atera," Embry quipped and gave Quil a shove from behind once they were out of earshot of the garage. "You know you haven't got a chance with her; Jake would fuckin' murder you if you so much as thought about touching his girl!"

"She ain't his girl." Quil shoved Embry back as they walked along.

"Yeah? Tell him that."

They'd just met _thee_ Bella Swan for the first time, and quite frankly, Embry couldn't really seem what the big deal was. Sure, she was pretty in that plain-Jane sort of way, but the girl seemed about as dull as an unsalted soup cracker to him. They continued down the street, playfully harassing one another as they went.

"She's not really my type, anyway," Quil said, kicking a pile of leaves at Embry from the parking lot in front of the school.

Embry scoffed in disbelief, followed by a shriek of "Asshole!" as water from the sloppy pile of leaves, wet from days of rain, soaked into his jeans. He immediately retaliated by bending to scoop two huge handfuls of the leave and started to chase Quil across the parking lot. "Who is your type then, huh?" Embry teased as he easily caught up to Quill and dumped the soggy leaves over his head.

"Shit, man. Okay, Uncle. Uncle! You win," Quil shrieked. He busied himself with removing the wet leaves from his hair and jumping around to dislodge the ones that had slid down the back of his sweatshirt while Embry doubled over in laughter.

"So?" Embry prompted with a bump to Quil's shoulder as they continued walking along in front of the community centre. After a confused look from Quil he added, "if Bella's not your type, what are you looking for in a girl?"

"I don't know, man." Quil blushed and rubbed a hand nervously over the back of his neck. "I'm not really that into any girls right now," Quil muttered under his breath, giving Embry an awkward sideways glance.

Embry raised a questioning eyebrow at Quil as he watched the slight brush crawl up his cheeks. They'd never really talked about it before, but it didn't really surprise him to hear what he thought Quil was trying to tell him. The stats said something like ten percent of the population was gay or bi.

They stopped on the corner where they always parted to go to their own houses, and Quil fidgeted uneasily.

"That's cool," Embry said, shrugging his shoulders and nodding his head. Quil hadn't out right said he wasn't into girls, but it didn't matter one way or the other to him.


	10. 14 Jive Time

The Twilight Twenty-Five (thetwilight25 dot com)

Prompt: #14  
Pen Name: Maddie-the-Muse

Characters: Leah Clearwater, Paul Lahote  
Rating: T  
Word Count: 423

Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

* * *

She flipped through the stacks of dusty old vinyl, not looking for anything in particular, just looking. That was the best way to find the hidden gems amongst the stacks and stacks of old scratched records that nobody wanted. Every few weeks, Leah found herself inside Jive Time Records waiting for something to speak to her. It had become sort of a routine since she'd moved to Seattle a few years ago.

She picked up a Nina Simone LP, flipping it over to see the track listing, and putting it back. If it didn't have _Love Me or Leave Me_ on it, she wasn't interested. She retrieved her coffee cup from where she'd parked it on the floor safely away from the records and made her way to the racks in the window.

"Leah?"

She looked to the door where a man stood silhouetted by the sun filtering in behind him.

"Paul?" She asked disbelievingly. His face became clear as he walked to ward her and out of the light; it was one she hadn't seen in years. She walked forward to meet him and after a split second of hesitation on both parts, she reached out and drew him in for a hug. "Holy shit. What are you doing here?"

"I was just walking past and I saw you in the window. I had to stop and see if it was actually you," He explained. He held her by the shoulders at arm's length, examining her carefully, like he didn't believe she was actually real.

"No. What are you doing here: in Seattle?" Leah stepped back out of Paul's grip, feeling the overwhelming flood of her past crushing down on her from his too-hot hands.

"Oh! Right," he laughed, shaking his head. "Rachel and I live over in Capitol Hill. Do you live around here?" Paul asked.

Leah nodded absently "Yeah." She marveled at how relaxed and almost happy he looked. The Paul she had known back in La Push had a permanent scowl on his face.

"I was just on my way to get the rug rats from day care, but we should totally get together and catch up," he said, pulling a business card from his wallet and passing it to Leah. She took it, studying the logo and title there.

"Yeah, we should do that," she agreed. "I guess lots has changed since I left, huh?" She mused to herself and smiled back as Paul clapped a hand on her shoulder and grinned at her before turning to leave.


	11. 13 Imprint

The Twilight Twenty-Five (thetwilight25 dot com)

Prompt: #13  
Pen Name: Maddie-the-Muse  
Pairing/Character(s): Rachel Black / Paul Lahote (Jacob Black, Billy Black)  
Rating: M  
Word Count: 326

Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

* * *

That was a lot to swallow all at once. Wolves? Imprinting? Vampires...seriously? Did I slip into a fantasy world on the way back here?

I didn't want to stay in La Push. I haven't really wanted to be here since Mom died. It feels too small; like I'm choking every time I walk out the front door. But I could already feel the pull, deep in my gut; like some parasite attached to my intestine. Making my insides twist at the very idea of walking away from here now; Away from him.

_Paul._

Paul Lahote, of all people, was the reason I was considering sticking around the shit hole I had vowed I would never call home again. Dad said I could reject the imprint; just walk away. He said it was entirely up to me. It sure doesn't feel that way.

I didn't really know Paul before I'd moved away, but I'd heard enough to know that he had a reputation. Not a good one either. Leah called him a man whore.

I wished I could talk to Becca about this, but Dad said I wasn't allowed to tell her the whole story, and how was I supposed to explain it to her without it? Love at first sight? Yeah right. She knows me a little better that that.

Some guy that I don't know, sees me once, and falls head over heels for me? That's some crazy storybook shit. Oh, yeah and he turns into a giant vampire hunting wolf, too.

Fuck my life.

"Rach, you okay?" Jacob's voice pulled me from my tangled web of thoughts. He leaned on the door frame of my bedroom.

I stopped pacing, something I hadn't even realized I had been doing, and sat on my old bed. "Not even remotely," I sighed as I drew my legs up under me and pulled the sleeves of Dad's old fishing sweater over my hands.

_I wish Mom was here._


End file.
